In July, smaller cars accounted for only 65.38 percent of overall passenger vehicle sales, which totaled 946,200 units, declining 1.42 percentage points month-on-month and dropping below last year’s average of 69.5 percent for five months in a row.
“Small cars,” it should be pointed out, means cars with 1.6 liters displacement or less. This despite a 3,000 yuan ($443.37) government subsidy on 71 qualifying “small car” nameplates. And if an uncooperative market weren’t enough to cause some head-wagging in Beijing, only one Chinese-brand car made the China Association of Auto Manufacturers “ten best-selling sedans” list: the BYD F3. And no, not the plug-in hybrid version.
Remember the huge parking lots full of unsold cars? That picture was on everybody’s mind as they analyzed new Japanese inventory reports of cars and electronics. According to The Nikkei [sub], the stuff is piling up again, fueling angst about a double dip recession. (Read More…)
For the first time in recorded history, the Volkswagen Group sold (not just produced) more than 4m vehicles in the period from January to July. Actually, it’s 4.16m units. In the same period of 2009, they had moved 3.65m units. Which translates into a growth of 13.7 percent. In a communiqué, Volkswagen proudly announces that they outpaced the overall world market. Which had grown 13.4 percent in the same period. (Read More…)
Collectively, the the Detroit Three have enjoyed precisely one market share turnaround in the last several years: Ford in 2009. This year, Detroit’s market share looks downright stagnant. Chrysler’s got a tiny bump going on, but Ford’s lost its fizz and GM is skidding bottom… at best. On the other hand, if this graph is just too gloomy for you, hit the jump for one of the first glimmers of (market share) hope for Detroit in years.
We’ve got a tight fight for the top spot again this month in the Mid/Large CUV segment. Traverse, Pilot, Edge, Outback and Sorento are all running between 9k and 10k monthly units, and between 50k and 65k YTD sales. All of these top-selling nameplates improved over their July 2009 numbers, but the flagging Highlander and Venza both fell back year-on-year, as did the Flex. Can Edge ride a mid-cycle refresh to the 2010 Mid/large CUV sales title? That could just depend on whether or not Chevrolet opens up more production capacity for its Traverse. Meanwhile, Ford’s Explorer and Jeep’s Grand Cherokee should start eating into this segment… which begs the question: should these two nameplates be migrated out of SUVs and into the burgeoning segment? While you ponder the answer, we’ll be preparing an July SUV sales chart for tomorrow.
BMW snagged the top spot last month, but Lexus and Mercedes are still battling for the top spot in year-to-date luxury brand sales. Lincoln and Mercury are running at less than half the rate of Buick and Cadillac, while Saab’s year-to-date number is nearly on par with its next-nearest rival Jaguar’s monthly number. Infiniti pulled ahead of Audi in YTD and monthly sales in July, as both brands prepare to overtake the canceled Mercury brand in the YTD sales race, and start chasing Acura. It continues to be a rowdy year for the luxury brands…
The China Association of Auto Manufacturers (CAAM) is confident that total auto sales in China may reach up to 16 million units, says Global Times. They seem to be unfazed by the recent cooling-off. (Read More…)
The Compact Crossover segment has changed a bit since last month, as the Honda CR-V enjoyed strong demand en route to over 20k monthly sales. Rogue had a strong month as well, but still ended up about 5k units shy of last month’s segment leader, the Ford Escape. Terrain seems to be going a bit weak compared to recent months, and even Equinox was down a bit from its July 2009 number. Sportage is way off ahead of its new model rollout, but once the 2011s come in, expect Kia cute ute to mix things up in the 7k-ish and above monthly volume range.
The C-segment did not have a great July, especially compared to July 2009’s Cash-for-Clunker-inspired clamor for compact cars. The three exceptions were the Hyundai Elantra, Kia Forte and Mitsubishi Lancer, which all handily beat their July 2009 numbers. If you’re getting sick of the “Hyundai momentum” storyline, look elsewhere. On the other hand, with production of 2012s underway, the lame-duck Focus has settled into a 15k-month routine (actually averaging about 14,500 over the last 12 months), and Cobalt is falling away as Lordstown tools up for the Cruze. And with a new Elantra due by the end of this year, real competition in this segment is only just beginning.
Pop quiz time: Which country is GM’s largest market? Easy. China. By a wide margin. Buick is kept alive because China is Buick country, and for raw numbers, there are the gadzillions of cheap Wuling vans, bought and reviled by farmers and small businesses.
Now for the tougher question: Name the three largest markets of Chevrolet, worldwide. (Read More…)
Everybody in the Japanese auto biz (and who’s not in the auto biz in Japan, except my friends who, but that’s for another day), everybody in the Japanese auto biz has their eye on the sky. Why? Because the sky is soon to drop. On September 30, government subsidies for purchases of “environmentally friendly vehicles” (read pretty much any new vehicle that passes Japanese rules) will expire. Everybody expects a mad dash in August and September, and in October: Whammo. Down comes the sky. (Read More…)
Automotive News [sub] takes a stab at calculating the numbers that Detroit doesn’t want you to see. Best of all, AN says the numbers are based on “internal documents.” During this morning’s financial results conference call, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne railed against AN’s “crusade,” implying that the industry paper of record is nursing a vendetta against Chrysler… which is usually a good sign that a media outlet is doing its job well. It’s also a sign that Marchionne knows his firm’s fleet dependence is a problem.
Up on the month! Up on the year! Second best month of the year! Cars now selling more than before, even with incentives gone! Wow, our tropical wonderland just gets better and better. Sales are up 15.27 percent on June and 4.27 percent better than the same month last year, for a grand total of 285,299 (according to Brazilian car mag’s Quatro Rodas website). Comparing to the last two months (here and here), both month-to-month and year-to-year (8.48 percent better) numbers register positively. However, incentives are gone, so naturally sales should be down. Not! Now, I’ve read far and wide on Brazilian internet sites, car rags and whatnot, and nobody has had the guts to explain what’s going on. So I’ll call like it is (or, at least as I see it). There’s a new phenomenon out there. I’m branding it the Uno effect. Not to be modest, but I called it first (here and here). I want my laurels! (Read More…)
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